The Legend of Dragoon: Essence
by Kez Ramsey
Summary: ch 15 upDragonwraiths are picking off the Dragoons one by one, and the only one who seems to know anything about it is the newly resurrected Lloyd . . .Now with less temporal paradoxies, and more fluff!
1. Prelude

One year after Dragoon . . .  
  
Divine, Water, Wind, Earth, Light and Thunder stood together taking in the beauty of the new Tree of Life. Formerly their battleground, the Tree had been reborn much like the mythical phoenix once balance had been restored and Fate ultimately defied. An anniversary of sorts, the six remaining Dragon Knights took in the sights with silent reverance. In proximity to each other, their Dragoon spirits glowed their elemental colours brightly, giving the group all the luminescence they needed.  
  
The Moon That Never Sets had long vanished from the night sky, a testament to what the seven of them had accomplished.  
  
"So, should we say something?" Meru whispered to Albert beside her.  
  
The King of Serdio smirked slightly, "I suppose you could if you wanted to - there really are no rules, remember."  
  
Meru giggled, "Oh, right." She walked closer to the mammoth tree. "Hey, Rose, wherever you are - we're here to remember ya! We couldina dunnit without ya!" She shouted exuberantly. Dart intoned his own words of endearment to his friend and father also who had fallen in the final battle. Kongol and Haschel made a display of kata to honour Rose. Miranda said her thanks quietly and Albert left a flower from Lavitz's mother's garden at the base of the tree.  
  
One by one, the group disbanded and went back to their seperate lives.  
  
Dawn broke across the sacred expanse of land and with it a seed from the Tree of Life fell. The tiny speck flew to the ground with the weight of a boulder. Upon impact, it exploded into a sea of silvery liquid, making a small pond where it landed. A a naked form rose out of the silver water, kneeling on all fours. The figure rose, and peering out into the world for the first time in a year, smiled wickedly.   
  
Lloyd stepped out of the seed's pool, Dragon Buster in hand.  
  
**************************************  
  
"I can't wait to see Bale!" Meru exclaimed excitedly as she nearly toppled over Albert and Dart trying to find room to dance.  
  
"Okay, Meru. Calm down. Jumping up and down won't get us there any quicker." Albert commented with a laugh.  
  
"Oh, why don't we just fly? C'mon!" Meru bounced into the air and extended her oft-concealed wings. Their magic lifted her into the air.  
  
"Meru, we're not Winglies!" Dart yelled to her.  
  
"Duh! Use your dragoon stones, c'mon!"  
  
"It doesn't work like that," Albert explained.  
  
"See, look," Dart took out his spirit. The stone glowed transluscence but did nothing more.  
  
Meru slid back to the ship's deck, "Oh, wow. I didn't even know. Course, I've had no use for becoming a dragoon since . . . well you know. It doesn't work anymore?"  
  
"I'm pretty sure none of them do anymore. They transform us when Endiness needs us, but as Dragoons we are no longer needed." Albert stated with a shrug.  
  
"Well, why still have them then?" Meru queried.  
  
Dart opened his mouth to say something but shouted instead, "Lookout!" He grabbed Meru and Albert and dived to the deck.  
  
"What the hell are you-" Albert stopped mid-sentence as an explosion rocked the ship.  
  
Meru was the first to get up. As she stood, something swooped in and scooped her up.  
  
"Meru!" Dart and Albert cried in unison.  
  
The dark blue creature flew straight up with Meru in its claws.  
  
Dart still had his Dragoon Spirit in his hands. He squeezed it, trying to force the magic out. "Damn you, work! Awaken Divine Dragon!" he yelled. The stone sparked then its glow ceased altogether. Albert brought out his own, it too seemed quite lifeless.  
  
"What do we do?" Albert demanded of no one in particular. "What's happening?"  
  
His question was answered as Meru's lifeless body fell between him and Dart.  
  
"No!" Dart yelled, rushing to her side. Though he could see no wounds, it was apparent she was dead. Her skin was pale and chest sagged hollowly. "No, Meru!"   
  
The creature came into sight, hovering just out of reach of Dart and Albert. Different weapons were fired at it by the crewman of the ship but each projectile was deflected by some unseen shield. The beast was the size of man with dragon like wings and dark blue scales. Its eyes shone a blood red and were now laid upon Meru. The creature let out a roar and instantly the girl began to glow, rather something inside her did.  
  
The Spirit of the Blue Sea Dragon floated up towards the creature. Dart's eyes went wide as it passed his line of sight,  
  
"No!" he lunged and caught the stone in his hands.  
  
The creature screamed as if in agony and disappeared in a cloud of mist.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Thanks for reading, please tell me if you like it and want more, muchly appreciated! Allusia. 


	2. Take Something Like a Star

@Thanks so much for the reviews guys! (DarkDragonX, thanks for trying to correct me - I love constructive critism!- but I was already aware, I was hoping the whole Dragon Buster thing would build up some suspense, ya know? Anyways, onward:  
  
(Jeez, I forgot this last time)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own LOD, just the plot. (One can wish right?)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Meru!" Albert screamed as he ran to her.  
  
Dart caught his friend in mid-stride. "It's too late. She's gone," he said quietly as he held on to the King's shoulders for his support or Albert's he wasn't sure.  
  
"We have to do something!" Albert exclaimed. "Something . . . We have to get her back to her home. Turn this ship around now!" He cried out in desperation. "Turn it around now!"  
  
Dart let go of his friend who walked away heaving a heavy sigh. Albert took off his cape and laid it over Meru's body before hurrying off to the bridge to inform the captain of their new course. Dart watched this and looked down to the small stone he held in his hand. The Blue Sea Dragon Spirit emitted a soft glow that warmed his palm. His own Divine Spirit, in his other hand, did the same. 'Dammit, why wouldn't you let me transform?' he wondered, grief and anger filling his thoughts. 'Why?'  
  
****************  
  
One foot fall after another on the parched ground had taken its toll on Lloyd in his present state. 'I'm much weaker,' he decided as he sat down, 'than what I was before.' His breaths were deep but hollow, filling his lungs too slowly. 'I don't remember being out of breath . . . since I was a boy.' He surveyed his surroundings. The great expanse, of which the Divine Tree was the centre, still lay devoid of life despite the passing of a year. The destruction that was wrought by the Dragoons and Melbu Frahma had inevitably scarred the land.  
  
"I'll die . . . of dehydration before I get anywhere," Lloyd muttered sarcastically as he belatedly got hold of his breath. No longer gasping for air, he could relax for the time being. A sudden shadow caused him to look up from his vacant glare and deep thoughts. A figure silhouetted by the midday sun towered over him. Lloyd suddenly became quite aware he was nude. He smiled as pleasantly as he could.  
  
The figure took off a blue cloak and tossed it to the Wingly, "Looks like you could use some help, friend." He spoke with a weathered voice and knelt down so to face Lloyd eye to eye. The stranger was a Wingly as well.  
  
Lloyd's smile broadened.  
  
*****************  
  
"Her physical body remains unharmed but her soul and mind are ravaged like nothing I've ever seen before," the Wingly Elder reported. "It is a great loss. Meru will be missed dearly."  
  
Albert and Dart put in their affirmations.  
  
"She will be put to rest in such a way that honours her contribution to the Great Battle," another Wingly explained as she came up from behind the two humans. "What did this?"  
  
Dart ran through the events that had cost Meru her life.  
  
"I've not heard of such a monster, what did it want?"  
  
"This," Dart held out Meru's Dragoon Spirit. "Fortunately, it disappeared when I grabbed the stone before it could."  
  
"Is it after all of your stones?" the Elder inquired.  
  
The thought hadn't occurred to either Albert or Dart but as they looked to each other it was apparent they shared the same thought.  
  
"The others, we have to warn them," Albert said.  
  
"I hope Shana's alright too," Dart added. "Let's see, there's only Miranda . . . and Haschel and Kongol - they're probably back at the Rouge Islands by now."  
  
"And Miranda's no doubt back in Mille Seseau. We should go to her first, Deningrad is closer." Albert reasoned.  
  
Dart nodded, "Yeah, I agree. I think it best if we stay together as well. We'll be too easy as targets completely by ourselves."  
  
"We need to get to Deningrad," Dart told the Wingly Elder who nodded.  
  
"As you know we have the means to make it so, come with me."  
  
*******************  
  
Lloyd watched the two humans as they followed the Ancestor.  
  
"Water, water everywhere . . ." he mused. 'Does he have the Spirit with him? Surely the beast didn't get it.' He looked to the black/blue velvet sky overhead. Flecked with diamonds, it sparkled like white sand on a hot day. 'We have brought about the end of the world,' Lloyd continued with his thoughts. 'I could stop this . . .' he sighed, 'but I won't - too much depends on what will come to pass tomorrow and I am not about to bear the burden of failure.'  
  
A voice called to him from within. Lloyd stayed a moment longer on the balcony, taking in the beauty of the night. 'I wonder if I'll make it to Rouge in time?' His line of sight drifted back to Dart and Albert who had just reached the Wingly Teleporter.  
  
******************  
  
"No, no, no, Kongol," Haschel remarked, putting his hands up in a gesture to stop. "Pay attention will you, you big lug? Now, watch me, like this." He proceeded to go through the steps of his student's newest kata in slow motion, exaggerating his movements so that the Giganto could more easily see his mistake. "There, you see?"  
  
Kongol nodded, but then went stiff as a screeching sound filled his ears. Haschel also stood stalk still.  
  
"Damn monsters, there's another one got in here!" The old man complained.  
  
"Should we look for it?" Kongol asked.  
  
"No, it's approaching. Listen. Can't you hear its steps get louder? Sounds like . . . I dunno." The fighter's face contorted as he realized his confusion. "I don't know what it could be."  
  
A dark pink creature leapt on to the roof of Haschel's house as if on cue.  
  
Both Kongol and Haschel readied themselves, as the beast effortlessly hopped down to the ground and began making its way toward the two. Thin membranous wings lay flat against its back and a long tail swayed from side to side as it walked closer on all fours. The creature opened its mouth to reveal sharp jagged teeth as it let out its battlecry again.  
  
"C'mon, make your move," Haschel taunted.  
  
"Show us your moves," Kongol attempted. His teacher cast a sideways glance of approval.  
  
The cat-like dragon lunged at Haschel. The martial arts master drew back in a defensive stance while Kongol rushed in to intervene. The creature moved too fast for the slower Giganto and toppled Haschel rather forcefully. Both hit the ground loudly and were engulfed by a storm of lightning and purple smoke. Suddenly, the winged beast was blown back by an electric charge. Haschel stood as the Thunder Dragoon, preparing for another attack. Kongol summoned himself to transform as well but found that nothing happened. Before he had time to check his spirit, the creature was attacking again. It charged Haschel, extending its wings as it did so, then wrapped them around him once it was close enough. The Dragoon fumbled in the mesh of the tendrous wings but then was suddenly quite still.   
  
The beast screeched again and withdrew its wings. Haschel fell to the ground, reverting out of his Dragoon armour before landing. Kongol rushed the dark pink attacker but found the blade of the Dragon Buster first. The power of the sword thrust the Giganto to the side of his mark. He had just enough energy to see Lloyd kneel down and snatch Haschel's Spirit stone from where it lay in the air over his body.  
  
"I'll handle it from here, thanks." Lloyd assured Kongol as the huge warrior lost consciousness.  
  
The creature set its sights on the Wingly. Growling deeply in its scaled throat as it turned to face its newest opponent.  
  
"Let the joust begin." Lloyd gave a melodramatic bow.  
  
The beast charged him. The two collided and then Lloyd let the weight of his adversary carry them off the side of the cliff they fought on. Both fell towards the sea.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Heh, hope you guys liked this week's latest installment! Thanks for reading, Allusia. 


	3. Gripping the edge

Hey, guys! I haven't kept up my end of the deal, I realize. I thought once I got my pc back I would but then exams and work attacked. (Accursed school and work!) Well, I've had to kill one story already because I was detached from it – I promised myself I wouldn't kill both my stories. So, instead of this being the epic I thought it was going to be, it's now going to be the prelude to the epic I hope I'll have time to write. This way I can assure you a conclusion (in another chapter or so) since I have one more week until all hell breaks loose with six and seven year olds. Camp counsellor *sigh*. Well, enough about me, onward the fic!

Disclaimer: LOD is not mine

____________________________________________________________

Miranda inadvertently sat down as Dart relayed the recent happenings to her, the words of Meru's death affecting her like a hit to the stomach. Flaxen hair covered her face, obscuring the grimace that appeared on her face as she absorbed what had been said. She straightened and regained her composure,

"What are we going to do?"

"We need to get everyone together first – then we can go from there," Dart said.

"Rouge then? To Kongol and Haschel?" Miranda inquired.

"Our thoughts exactly," Albert remarked. "I have a ship waiting. Our stones seem to be of no use at the moment so we will have to do without them."

"What?" Miranda reached for her stone inside her tunic. It glowed softly in the presence of the other dragoons but she could feel that something was amiss. Though it seemed fine, it felt devoid of the power she knew lay within. The magic that coursed through her veins when she called upon the dragon spirit inside no longer reacted to her. Miranda's gaze hardened as the reality of the situation sunk in. "Let's get the others then."

Both Albert and Dart nodded in unison.

****************

Kongol awoke to the sounds of his friends' voices and Miranda's healing magic. He shakily got up, still blurry from the onslaught he had been apart of. Dart, Albert and Miranda stood around, holding back their anxiety with the thought of Kongol's wellbeing.

"Are you alright, my friend?" Albert asked.

The giganto shook his head in an affirmation but then his eyes went wide as the memory of the attack played back in his head. 

"Master Haschel!" he yelled, spinning and looking desperately around. The others did the same. All spotted the body of the old man at the same time.

"He's quite dead." Lloyd commented from where he sat on top of the school's roof. None of the dragoons had noticed his presence until he had spoken, but had he been there in the first place?

Dart drew his sword at the sound of the familiar voice. "Are you apart of this?" he demanded.

"Reluctantly, much like yourself," the Wingly shrugged and jumped down from his spot.

"Alive?" Miranda mumbled to herself.

"Yes, indeed, I am." Lloyd dusted himself off while the shock of his appearance settled in.

"What do you want?" Dart continued.

Lloyd smirked, "You make it sound as if you have something to offer me."

"What the hell's going on?" Miranda stepped forward, and drew her weapon. The potent arrow head gleamed menacingly at the Wingly. "Tell us, or die."

"You tried that once already, it didn't seem to work out all that well as I recall." Lloyd brought out the Dragon Buster rather ceremoniously and showed it off to the four in front of him.

"He has stone too." Kongol stated.

"So this is your doing," Dart sneered. He instinctively curled inwards as his rage brought out his power, and then exploded it outwards as it embraced him and transformed him. The Divine Dragoon unleashed his wrath upon the Wingly.

The magic condensed and shot out towards Lloyd in a thick stream of silver light. Lloyd smiled knowingly, lightning flashed in his eyes and then he was gone. The blast of Divine power dissipated into nothing. 

Once the Wingly had disappeared Dart recoiled from the force of the magic returning to the stone. He fell to his knees, clutching his chest where the stone lay in his armour. The other three dragoons gathered around him.

"Dart you did it, you called back your power," Miranda said encouragingly.

"It took all my will, and now I feel as if its drained me of something." He heaved out a heavy breath. "The insanity is growing stronger. It won't let us harness it. We have to find Lloyd, he knows more than what he's letting on."

"Isn't that always the case?" Albert commented as he helped his friend up.

Miranda looked over to where Haschel lay, "Unfortunately, it is."

*********************

Death was like a chasm, the deeper you fell, the darker it got and the less you remembered about the light of day. Lloyd had hit the bottom and found himself out on the other end. In the safety of his saviour's home, he studied the night sky again. It wasn't nearly as endless as the void he had known but it would do. He needed to immerse himself in the all encompassing expanse of blackness. The glittering stars were his only reminder. He was alive, again.

The hearty voice of his saviour came from within calling to him that there was hot soup on the table. Magrin was his name, the Wingly who had plucked him from the waters of the Tree's hot wasteland and taken him in. Hospitality and charity being somewhat alien to Lloyd he was still wary of the old Wingly's motives but he stayed nonetheless. 

'Did you plan this Keila?' Lloyd wondered. 'Is this your last way at getting back at me? You wouldn't let me escape you even through death – and you said I was the selfish one.'

"Lloyd, my boy, did you not hear me?"

Magrin knocked him out of his reverie. Slightly annoyed, he sneered, "What?"

"Supper! Broth and bread, just how my Kala used to make it – well, maybe not exactly, hers was perfect mind you-"

"Thank you, I heard you. I'll be there in a minute."

Magrin regarded Lloyd shaking his head.

"Now what?"

"What do you mean, what? Look at you, nice young man* like yourself and all you do is brood. You've got a chip on your shoulder like never I've seen before."

"Are you finished?"

"Sure, I'm finished, the question is: do you care? Do you care about anything? Look, I don't know how you ended up the way you did, where you did when I found ya and it's not my place to be asking questions but whatever happened, happened. It's in the past – there's nothing you can do about so there's no use in trying to change it."

Lloyd only smiled.

"I don't know about you, but you've got to stop living in the past." Magrin walked away, having given up on yet another attempt to lighten Lloyd's constant dark mood.

"Stop living in the past? You have no idea, old man, no idea."

*AN: For lack of a better word.

Thanks for reading, Allusia. 


	4. A Piece of the Past

Hiya guys, what's up? Thanks for all your reviews! (LoD fans rock!) But enough PR, the next chapter should probably conclude this little intro epic – hope you guys like this chapter. It's very ominous and foreboding (all the great fics are, right?). Anyways, read on and enjoy!

Disclaimer: not mine, not mine!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The expressions of the four dragoons were grim as they all watched the last embers of Haschel's funeral pyre burn out. The night was so late it was early but rest was far from their minds. They turned away in unison.

Albert was the first to speak, "I think I should return to Bale. Emille is probably worried out of her mind." He turned to Dart, "We can check on Shana as well, if you all come that is."

"What do you mean 'if'?" Miranda commented, with her hands on her hips. "We decided to stick together, remember? And you have an obligation to your people just as you do to us – we all understand that."

"Right," Albert chuckled in spite of himself.

"Need to find Lloyd," Kongol added.

"True. We can stop at Fletz on our way to Serdio. Your sister-in-law maybe able to help us with locating Lloyd," Dart suggested.

"So, we figure out where the scum is hiding, then what? With his new disappearing act, how are we going to get anything out of him?" Miranda remarked.

"Let's just find him first," Albert said, attempting to halt Miranda's train of thought before they all found themselves at a deadend. "Hopefully the stars will have something for us, eh Dart? . . . Dart?" Miranda, Kongol and Albert shared the same confusion as they looked around finding no sign of the Divine dragoon.

"Where'd the hell he go?" Miranda queried.

"There," Kongol pointed to an obscure shadow in the distance. The three approached the cliff's edge with caution. As they neared the lower plateau, Dart's silhouette, outlined by the moon's soft rays, became clear. He was preparing to make his way down the cliff face.

"Dart, what are you doing?" Albert inquired.

"Something down there, I wanna go check it out. Here," he tossed a shoulder full of rope to the king and disappeared. Albert nearly followed him as Dart's weight snagged and drew the rope taut. Kongol, fortunately, caught him in time and grabbed hold of the rope. 

Dart slid down the rope as slowly as possible as much for Kongol's sake as his hands. A small outcropping lay just below, between him and the raging sea. Something, glistening in the night, lay on the outcropping. Gently, he dropped down, being careful not to disturb whatever it was.

"What is it?" Miranda hollered from the top of the cliff.

Dart knelt down to examine the thing, he grimaced as he realized: 'I don't know.' It was a heap of leathery scales . . .

"Get me a lantern!" Dart yelled up to his friends.

*********************

Lloyd fiddled with the purple stone, tossing it in the air casually and catching it again as he waited outside the tavern in Bale. Leaning against the wall, he seemed as listless as any of the other comers and goers of the small bar. In truth he had chosen the spot specifically as a vantage point and was as poised and alert as he could be. The person he was meeting was a dangerous, powerful being that he did not want to underestimate.

A man clad in light armour and a dark green cloak approached him. His gait seemed easy and his expression was aloof but Lloyd noted how his hand fell to the hilt of his sword in proximity to him and how he had flipped the one side of his cloak over his shoulder. 

"I was hoping you'd stay dead," the man greeted, eyeing Lloyd.

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"Well you've got gall, being out here and throwing that thing around, then again you always were so damned cocky."

"As flattering as this conversation is, I didn't call you here to reminisce," Lloyd remarked.

"I figured as much," the man replied. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. You're still dead to the world as far as anyone else is concerned."

"Good, keep it that way," Lloyd motioned to enter the tavern. When the man would not, he did so instead. "Don't be so skeptical, Ellis. I'm not here to kill you."

Ellis snorted and followed him in. The two found a seat and shared some thick silence before either one spoke again.

"I don't know why you're back and I don't care, Lloyd. Just whatever you want, get it over with so I can be on my way."

Lloyd smiled coyly, "You don't know why I'm here? Better get back to the books, Ellis." He put away the Thunder Dragoon Spirit. "Have you got the Dragon Block Staff back yet?" he asked in a whisper.

Ellis' eyes went wide at the mention of the sacred item. He took a moment to compose himself before answering, "Not yet. No." He paused, skepticism filling his eyes, "Why are you so interested in it all of a sudden? You've got nothing to do with it."

"Don't worry about it. I'm not about to take on any more dragons if that's what you're thinking. I just need it for a little bit." He leaned in, "Look, you get the Staff for me and I can send Regole's Spirit your way."

Ellis crossed his arms, "Yeah, making a deal with you is like making a deal with Frahma himself. I don't know where it is and when I do get it, I'm not giving it over to you for any reason. You're not apart of this anymore."

"Don't act like it's some kind of secret club, Ellis. The players are pre-chosen and we both know it, else I wouldn't have this," he padded his pocket. "I've killed the thunder wraith – it already got the previous owner of the stone and the water wraith got its mark."

"So? You make it sound like I should care; it's just to bad Fate played out this way. I would have preferred fighting alongside that geezer instead of you anyday." Ellis got up to leave but Lloyd put his hand up to stop him. He froze where he was, half-sitting and half-standing, allowing the Wingly a final word out of courtesy. 

"Has Ceres got her stone yet?"

"No, none of us have had the privilege of being sucked into the whirlpool yet."

Lloyd smiled, "I almost forgot we used to call it that." He nodded more to himself than Ellis, "Remember, I'm still dead."

"If only that were the truth," Ellis laughed as he walked off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Thanks for reading, Allusia!!


	5. The Welcome Back Present

@Wow, 20+ reviews, you guys are awesome! Thanks so much for the compliments, *****blush* tee hee. This chapter's a little long but I assure you it is quite fun. I hope it doesn't disappoint, and yes, this concludes the Prelude. Hopefully, I won't keep you hanging for you too long! Thanks, now enjoy!!

Disclaimer: LoD is not mine

____________________________________________________________________________________

"What is it?"

"Monster that attacked master," Kongol commented.

"A dragon?" Miranda wondered aloud.

Albert's face scrunched up at the thought, "I would hate to think such a horrid creature is related to the majestic dragon. Though it is scaled and winged, I would call it more demon than dragon."

Dart opened the pink beasts mouth to discover a maw like none he'd ever seen before. Rows of jagged teeth seemed to be all that inhabited the cavity. Blood stained the first few rows and its front talons, "Lloyd was injured in the fight," he surmised.

"More fuel to the fire: Lloyd knows what they are and how to kill them," Miranda commented. "Just another reason to hunt down his sorry hide."

"I have to get back home," Albert suddenly blurted out. He looked to his companions apologetically. "I know we agreed to see Princess Lisa first, but we can just as easily send her message of the happenings. Going to Tiberoa first will just mean we'll have to take the long way home, and I feel I need to be in Serdio."

Miranda put her hand on the king's shoulder reassuringly, "Well, then Al, let's get going."

*********************************

Lloyd waited a few minutes before leaving, giving himself as much distance from Ellis as possible. He left a tip for the half-drunk mug of ale and sauntered out. He sauntered right into the hilt of Ellis' sword and falling backwards to the ground caught the man's chuckle before loosing consciousness.

Lloyd groaned as the world slowly made its way back into his mind. He opened his eyes and pushed himself up off the ground. Shakily, he stood up and surveyed his surroundings. A dungeon cell. From outside the wall of bars a Serdian guard stood watch apprehensively beside Ellis who sat rather casually. The glee that flickered in the man's eyes made it quite apparent he was very amused.

Lightning flashed in the Wingly's eyes and reaching into his vest, he summoned the power of the Thunder Dragon. Nothing happened.

Ellis laughed and gestured to the corner. Lloyd's line of sight swept to the corner where a long staff with a collection of crystals on its top leaned against the wall. It glowed a faint purple. Lloyd sneered at the contemptuous device.

"Consider it a 'welcome back' gift," Ellis remarked as he got up. He turned to the guard, "Don't for any reason remove that staff or let that wingly out of that cell – you have here Lavitz Slambert's murderer."

The guards eyes went wide. His child's face gave way to how wet behind the ears he was but he looked to have enough wits to obey Ellis. The teen nodded but said nothing.

"You lied to me!" Lloyd snarled.

Ellis did a doubletake at the wingly's seldom seen anger. He composed himself just as quickly though, "Please, you're not the only one who can pull a fast one on his 'friends'." He got up and turned to leave.

Lloyd sprang to the bars of the cell, "Ellis, you can't do this! You don't understand, the king is-"

"Is what, a human?" Ellis turned on his heel to face Lloyd, "It must kill you, you misanthropic bastard, that your fate is going to be decided by some lowly human." He smiled smugly.

"No, you don't understand . . ." he eyed Ellis, regaining himself and then debating whether or not he wanted to reveal any more to him. He realized he didn't, "You're ruining everything."

"You ruined it for yourself," Ellis quipped disdainfully. He turned and gave a quick wave as he left the room, "Goodbye old friend, I hope the next place we meet will be in hell."

***********************************

Albert sat at his desk going over all the reports of everything he had missed. Though he had only been away for a few days, a mountain of paperwork loomed in front of him. Somewhat thoughtlessly he began skimming the documents before him and signing where appropriate. Emille was a pleasant distraction as she entered his study carrying a teapot and two cups on a tray.

"Ah, my dear, come to save me from the toils of my sovereignty?" Albert greeted.

Emille smiled. She put down the tray and went over to Albert to kiss him on the forehead, "Anything for you my love." Albert kissed her back and then cleared a spot for the tea while Emille set it out. Atleast in the privacy of the study they didn't have to play on formalities.

"Fortunately, the country was mostly uneventful while you were gone," Emille commented as she took a sip of her tea.

Albert nodded, "I can see that." He gestured to the pile of paper and they both laughed.

"Lady Miranda and the giganto, Kongol, are enjoying the city right now. They've already settled in as much to the rooms you gave them. Dart has gone to Seles to get Shana. He said they should be back by tonight which is all well considering the feast I've arranged in celebration of your return."

Albert blushed slightly but hid it by picking up a random report and pretending to read it. Somewhere between pretending to and actually reading the document, he picked up: 'Apprehension of murderer of Lavitz Slambert' and nearly choked on his tea. Emille stood as her husband gasped for breath. Albert stood as well, gesturing that everything was fine. He muttered an apology and sped for all his legs could take him to the dungeons.

*************************************

Albert steadied himself to a carried pace as he entered the cell the arrest report had stated Lloyd was in. Sure enough, the wingly sat staring blankly at the floor on one of the cell's benches. He didn't bother to get up as the king approached him but the guard snapped to attention.

"Your Majesty! I thought you might be down here, an anonymous citizen brought him in," the boy exclaimed. "He left that," he pointed to the Dragon Block Staff, "and told me not to touch it. I did as he said, sir, the man sounded like he knew what he was talking about."

Albert's mirth could not be contained nor hidden. He smiled and waved the guard away, "Good, very good boy, now leave us." The teen did as he was instructed. Albert turned to face Lloyd fully, "Well, this is a delicious turn of events," he remarked.

"Oh, you have no idea," Lloyd said sarcastically.

Albert walked as close to the bars as he dare, watching the captive within like a hawk. Lloyd in turn was watching him with his usual smug smirk plastered across his face. "I bet this has put a damper in your plans."

"How astute."

"If you tell me what you know about these creatures attacking us I may be lenient on your sentencing," the king managed, gritting his teeth as he did so.

"Creatures? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Please, Lloyd, don't insult me. Remain silent if you wish, but I'll have none of your head games."

"Save me the effort, I suppose," Lloyd stood and stretched. The wingly man was leanly but powerfully built though he often drew back so observers couldn't guess his true strength. After so many battles, his guile still misguided Albert and the rest of the Dragoons. No one was sure of his strengths or his weaknesses, except for maybe his conceit. He was the exact kind of adversary Albert's father had warned him of making.

The king took a step back from the cell bars, still keeping his eyes on Lloyd. "So, you are now the Thunder Dragoon?"

Lloyd nodded and brought out the spirit stone. As always, it glowed in proximity to another dragoon. However due to the effects of the Dragon Block Staff it's glow was faint.

"I thought the Divine Dragon had recognized you."

"The king of dragons recognizes anyone it pleases. Dart's true element is fire but he now holds the Divine spirit. Just as you could, if you were worthy . . ."

Albert rolled his eyes at the insult but absorbed the information all the same. He had been a Dragoon for almost two years now, but there were still so many mysteries surrounding the nature of the thing. Rose had known, she had known everything about Dragoons, but she had sacrificed herself a year ago, and how much did Lloyd know? He probably would never be certain.

"Tell me, boy king, does it bother you that you know nothing about the situation you've been caught in, being the great intellect that you are and all?" Lloyd suddenly questioned.

Albert almost answered, angered by the taunts but then he though better of it, "I'm not playing into your games, and I'm not letting you change the subject."

"How nice of you."

"You'll answer my question-"

"Or what? You'll come in here and beat it out of me? Go ahead, I dare you to open that door." Lloyd said, the sly smile returning to his face. He nodded towards the staff leaning idly against the wall in the corner.

Albert glared at him but said nothing, Lloyd had won that round. As if on cue, the wingly lunged forward towards the king, the cell bars being the only thing between the two. Lightning sparked in the wingly's eyes and he smiled with knowing satisfaction. The king disregarded him as he found himself a seat.

"I would've thought Dart would be the one doing the interrogations." Lloyd remarked.

Albert tried to ignore the man's condescending tone but failed, he was the King of Serdio and no man _or_ wingly had the right to dismiss him so arrogantly, "Dart has other business to attend to."

"Oh, so you're the second choice for this post? I've always hated seconds." Lloyd commented, leaning against the cells bars as he glared at Albert.

The King's eyes narrowed in contempt, but then he regained his usual aloft attitude, "Go ahead, Lloyd, play your games. I am confident in the fact that I am sitting comfortably here," he gestured towards the cushioned chair he was on with a wave of his hand, "and that you, my friend, are in there." he pointed towards the cell with the same hand, " Cramped quarters, no doubt." Albert added with a smirk.

"Well done, my leige." Lloyd replied with a solitary clap and melodramatic bow. The smile which irritated Albert so much, did not fade from his face. "I almost believed my taunts didn't bother you."

That was what made Lloyd such a tiring nemesis; how he could tell you how he was playing with your mind and still it would work on you. The wingly in question shrugged and broadened his smile. He sat down in a corner of the cell and closed his eyes in thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~```

Thanks for reading, Allusia.


	6. Crux

****

The Legend of Dragoon : Essence

Part Two

Crux

If they stayed here, no more of them would die. But staying here was not what Lloyd had in mind. It posed no gain on his part and much loss. His fingers unconsciously went to his throat. Realizing the action, he sneered, eyeing both the guard of the cell and the Dragon Block Staff in the corner.

"Tell me, when will the King be come to call again?" Lloyd asked.

"When and if he pleases," came the response.

Lloyd sighed. Two days had past without visitation from King Albert. He was growing apprehensive and he didn't like it. Caged and powerless, his hate for Ellis violently boiled just underneath the surface of his expressionless façade. 'You should have killed me . . .'

******************

"We should have him executed," Miranda commented at breakfast.

"He'd be even less likely to tell us anything then," Albert reasoned casually as he poured himself a cup of tea.

Dart nodded, "I don't like it, but we do need him."

"He's such a horrid creature," Emille began. "What an example he makes for the Winglies! It's good he's down in that dungeon so that no one can see him – I'd hate to think of all the terrible things a person could think about those people if Lloyd was the first one they met."

"The same could be said about a lot of humans," Shana remarked dryly. "Your Majesty," she added quickly, hoping that she hadn't offended the queen. Emille smiled politely.

"I suppose I should see if he's come around again today . . ." Albert muttered exasperatedly.

Dart smiled, "No." He put his hand on Albert's arm reassuringly, "Now, that I'm here, let me have a go at it."

**********************

Lloyd stood when Dart entered. He had been expecting the red warrior for quite some time.

The fury in his eyes he did not hide. Dart spoke calmly, "Albert is a patient man but he also is a just King. He can't let Lavitz Slambert's murder go on unpunished indefinitely."

"Is that a threat?"

"No, it's a fact," Dart approached the bars.

Lloyd mirrored him.

"You're either going to rot in here or you're going to rot out in a shallow grave, headless that is, if you don't-"

Lloyd put his hand up to stop Dart, "Yes, yes. I've heard all the dire alternatives already." He paced for a moment, looking as though he was pondering a grave moral decision.

Dart knew better, knew that everything Lloyd did in front of an audience was put on. He waited, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back on his left leg so he could tap his right foot.

Lloyd stopped with his back to him, "You have to resist the urge to transform when they attack you."

"The demons?"

"They're not demons," the wingly stated matter-of-factly.

"Then enlighten me, what are they?"

Lloyd spun around and smiled wickedly. "Are you sure you want to know?" Dart only gave him an unimpressed look. Lloyd went on, "They are wraiths, my friend. Dragon wraiths. . . whence do they come?" He voiced the question before Dart had the opportunity to. Lloyd laughed. He gestured with a nod to the Divine Spirit that lay in Dart's armour. "They are hate and rancor embodied. The hate and the rancor each Dragon Spirit has for its Dragon Knight."

Dart wheeled back. "No!" he yelled in shock. Lloyd watched him but remained silent. Dart shook his head in disbelief what lies that wingly would spin. His web was intricate and concealed – parts that were shown were made shown for a purpose. It couldn't be real.

They are hate and racor embodied.

Dart met Lloyd's gaze. Yet, the tone in which he spoke . . . the crispness of his words . . . the malignant light in his eyes . . . Dart closed his eyes at the revelation. 

It was truth. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`````

@ So here it is. I hope you guys like it. I warn you now, the next parts introduce my OCs. This fic is a remake of another I wrote awhile back. Anyways, I intend to update on a relatively frequent basis so here's to it!

Thanks for reading and for your reviews! As always, tell me what you like, hate – anything, just validate my existence!

Disclaimer: LoD is not mine 


	7. Those Who Dare

Ellis sat on the inn's rooftop eyeing Indels Castle as he ate his supper. He was bored of Bale already but there was the odd and narrow chance that Lloyd might side with the Dragoons. The maid hadn't even said anything when he had told her to bring the stew and bread to the roof today; it was a sure sign he should leave soon. Still, the thought nagged at him. He had long since learned not to put Lloyd above anything.

'I probably should have killed him,' he mused.

************

"Why would the spirits try to kill us?" Dart demanded.

Lloyd shook his head mockingly, "Don't you get anything?" He walked to the cell bars again and leaned on them haphazardly. "First you slay them then you enslave them to an eternity of servitude, who wouldn't be a little upset? They are forced each and every time you transform to give up their legendary power, their birthright, to you." He paused for drama. "They say love has the power to bring back the dead well hate has the power to kill."

"So, how do we defeat them?"

"Destroy your spirits."

"No. You defeated the Thunder Wraith, tell me how to do it."

"Release me, and I will."

Both Lloyd and Dart glanced at each other then the Dragon Block Staff.

"I don't have the power to do that," Dart finally said.

"Then bring it to your king."

*************

"Is he the one that has the Blue Water Dragoon Spirit?"

Ellis nodded, "The one in the red armour."

"He's the Divine Dragoon too?"

"Yes."

Ellis was handed back the small telescope. "Can we risk an assault?"

"What? On the castle?" he asked, bewildered. "You winglies are crazy, no! We'll have them all on us if we do that!"

"We can't handle all of them?"

"I never said that, I'm just saying there's no need to find out if we can," Ellis replied.

"I suppose. We're not here to start another war."

"No, we're not. Now, get outta here. I told you that I'd handle it."

She flew off leaving Ellis to his plans.

*******************

"I don't like it; he's trying to play us," Miranda consulted.

"Well, I think that's obvious," Shana commented.

Albert put up his hands to quiet everyone. Something buzzed inside him, almost like stagefright. Fear, anger, anxiety - all rolled into one - wrapped a sinuous hold around his conscience. He couldn't just let Lloyd go but he couldn't just ignore the winglies offer either, even if there was only a speck of truth in it. Albert began rubbing his brow sub-consciously as he thought both courses of action through.

"I think there's a lot of credit to Miranda's instincts," Albert remarked. "For one we don't even know who it was that first brought Lloyd in and how exactly he got a hold of the Dragon Block Staff in the first place. For all we know this could be one huge ploy . . ." he sighed. "On the other hand, he may very well be acting out of some self-preservation tactic because he truly is powerless at the moment." Albert stood and walked around his desk so that he could lean on the front of it. With one last attempt to shake off the smothering feelings, he realized they couldn't go on playing it safe. "But we do need him because he is the only one who seems to know about any of this." The king nodded to the guards waiting at the door, "Dart, I want you to go with them. Tell Lloyd that I accept his terms. We'll let him go providing he help us and with the stipulation that we keep his Dragon Spirit as collateral."

Dart nodded and left with the Royal Guard in tow.

"I hope this was the right thing to do, king," Miranda quipped.

'So do I,' Albert admonished.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`````

Thanks for reading, sorry it's so short. Next chap longer, I promise!


	8. The Enemy of My Enemy?

Dart meandered through the halls of Indels Castle. Night's blanket had cast everything in shadow, that which reflected light shone like a beacon as the clouds revealed the moon. It was quiet save for the passing patrols or servants every now and again. Stillness hung about him like the branches of a willow.

He leaned against a wall, slid down so that he was sitting. Dart unsheathed his sword and examined it, hilt to tip. The blade caught some moonlight let in by a stained-glass window on the opposite wall. Blue, red and purple shimmered across the steel of the sword.

'I promised Lavitz that I would avenge him, yet killing Lloyd might just as well seal all our fates.' Anger and bitter thoughts consuming him, he threw the sword. It clattered as it landed, sending steel-on-concrete sounds echoing down the hallway.

Abruptly, the noise stopped and Dart looked to see how this was.

A figure, concealed by the shadows so that only a silhouette was visible, bent down and picked up the weapon gingerly and then tossed it back to Dart. He caught it easily, the throw was not meant to be threatening he could tell.

The figure stepped into the moonlight. She had long flowing tresses of silver-blonde hair and eyes the colour of a sunset. Her attire was simple – boots, white slacks and sleeveless blue shirt. The coloured glass cast her in a blue light. She smiled.

"Shadows are funny things. They don't exist unless both darkness and light converge," she said.

Dart didn't move to get up, but tightened the grip on his sword. "Who are you?"

"My name is Estell. Yours?"

"Dart."

Estell nodded and walked closer, stepping into a purple wash of light. 

"What is it you want?" Dart asked. He idly placed one hand on the ground.

"You have something that belongs to me."

Dart's brow furrowed in thought. Reflexively, his hand went to where his Dragoon Spirit lay in his armour. Realizing it, he drew back as the familiar warmth touched his skin. The stone was resonating. Dart eyed the girl in front of him, then carefully removed the Water Dragoon Spirit from where he had been keeping it inside his tunic.

Estell brought her hand up, so that her palm showed in almost a half-wave. The blue stone, glowing also, flitted from his hand to hers.

Dart stood quickly, "You're Meru's predecessor!"

"I'm not," Estell remarked. She took a few steps backwards so that she lay half in shadow. "Until we meet again, Dart." She winked as the darkness surrounded her unnaturally. Before Dart could move to stop her, she had disappeared into the shadows. He could feel a surge of energy as all the darkness in the vicinity tensed up then faded into soft light.

****************** 

Lloyd was idly picking grime from underneath his nails when Albert walked in,

"Good day, your Majesty," he greeted cordially.

"So, what do you say to my terms?" Albert asked, getting directly to the point.

"I must admit when Dart came in here last night saying you had to agreed to absolve me of my crimes-"

"I'm giving you clemency on the grounds that you help us," Albert corrected.

"Right . . . Well, however you wish to put it, I didn't actually think he was telling the truth," Lloyd stood and smiled. "Your presence seems to prove me wrong."

"That being the case – unfortunately – you'll give over your dragoon spirit now," Albert held out his hand.

Lloyd eyed the king warily. His hand went to the inside of his vest but stayed there a moment or two. "I have to concede, my liege, I didn't think the negotiation regarding my freedom would be this easy to pull off. I had almost hoped you'd put up some sort of a fight on behalf of your dear – late – knight."

'What's he up to?' Albert wondered. He brushed his golden-bronze bangs out of his eyes, sighing as he did so. 

"So, here it is then," Lloyd tossed the small gem across the cell, through the bars. Albert caught it lightly, checked it but realized such precaution was unnecessary as the stone began to resonate in his hands He nodded towards the guard waiting at the door to the cell as he placed the Dragoon Spirit in an inner pocket of his shirt.

The Serdian guard carefully opened the door to the Lloyd's cell.

Lloyd's smile broadened.

*******************

Dart woke to the prodding hand of a serving girl. His eyes closed shut instinctively as the bright morning light hit them full force. Wincing, he sat up.

"Shall I call a physician, m'Lord?" the girl asked.

'Why would I need a doctor? Why is this girl waking me up, anyway? He groggily opened his eyes to discover he had been sprawled in the middle of a hallway. "I'm fine," he said. "Thanks."

Dart picked himself up and in doing so realized his sword was missing. He surveyed the area quickly.

"Is something wrong, sir?" the girl inquired.

His vision fell on the familiar blade, rested against the ledge of the stained glass window. "No, everything's fine," he assured her. "Tell me, where is the king?"

"His Majesty has gone to personally deal with some judicial proceedings. I'm sure he'll back for breakfast," she said before walking off.

Dart shook the remaining sleep from his body as he walked towards the guest quarters. Miranda was sitting on a couch in the wing's common room. She smiled coyly as he approached.

"Out all night, you little devil. You're going to break poor Shana's heart," she teased.

"Meru's Dragoon Spirit is gone," he said bluntly.

"What?" Miranda stood at the news. "What happened?"

Dart recounted the events, " . . . she was gone. I turned to find Albert and then . . ." He trailed off, memory failing him.

Miranda drew a gloved hand toward him and dusted off a fine powder from his shoulder plate. "A sleeping potion," she clarified. She smiled cheaply, "Albert's gone to fetch Lloyd. Emille's invited him to breakfast."

Emille was a bit quirky but even this sent Dart through a loop. He shook his head disapprovingly. "She probably thinks because he's behaving so well that he can still be saved."

"It's not her fault that she's a kind hearted person – she doesn't know what kind of monster he is," Miranda remarked.

'Even you don't know the extent of it, my friend,' Dart thought. 'You never knew Lavitz.'

****************************

Thanks for your reviews guys! Cheers!


	9. Breakfast with Lloyd

~!~ Disclaimer: yeah, yeah, yeah, not mine

There was so much tension in the air one could have choked if they weren't careful. Dart, Miranda, Kongol and Shana lined the long table eagerly anxious with Emille at one end looking rather cheerful and expectant in contrast. Servants came by and poured drinks for the five as they waited for Albert and Lloyd. Dart eyed the guard at the door and all the other possible exits, looking across the table, he could see that Miranda was doing the same. Each sipped their drinks in silence as they sat.

With little ado, the main doors swung open revealing two royal guard. They stepped aside and Albert came into view. Seeming quite calm for the happenings about to commence, he took his seat at the opposite end of the table to Emille. Lloyd waltzed in on his heels and found himself a seat beside Miranda and Emille. He smiled and nodded a greeting to everyone present. Emille was the only one to return the gesture.

The first course was served and eaten in silence.

The second began with the opening of light conversation on Lloyd's part. "So, how is everyone this fine day?"

Miranda turned to him and gave a sour smile before continuing on with her meal. Albert attempted to ignore him despite the gaze he could feel resting upon him. He wasn't sure if it was Lloyd's or Emille's but he didn't look up all the same.

"I'm well. Thank you," Emille said in spite of the silence that was permeating the dining hall.

Lloyd looked to her, smiling politely and nodded. "As I am, Your Highness." He took a few bites of his meal, a sip of wine then pointedly looked around at all the Dragon Knights present. "Water and Thunder have made their move – there will be no more attacks for another twenty-eight days," he stated simply, taking another sip of wine.

A new sort of silence filled the room. Albert looked to Dart who was eyeing the wingly suspiciously. "And you're certain of this?" he inquired.

Lloyd nodded. "Fairly," he conceded. Albert and Dart both opened their mouths in an attempt to probe the subject further but Lloyd spoke first. "There is a matter of security, however," he began. "You'll find that the Dragon Block Staff is no longer in your possession despite having had it put in the royal vault. And," at this he looked to Dart. "I'd be wary of pretty winglies if I were you." 

He grinned in such a way that Dart knew he knew Meru's Dragon Spirit was gone. Miranda gave Dart a look then glanced back at Lloyd. Dart only narrowed his eyes and nodded in the wingly's direction.

"Just a piece of advice," Lloyd went on. "Though, some things are inevitable."

*******************

"So, now what? We have what we came for. We should go back home now."

"Not all of it," Ellis commented. "The other stones – we could just as easily get those ones too." 

"Now, you're getting greedy, Ellis," Estell remarked. Her sister, beside her nodded in agreement.

Ellis shook his head. "Think about it, what if all of them survived? We could do it."

"Just as easily?" Estell inquired, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "You said it yourself, there's no point in finding out if we really do match up."

"I didn't think there was," Ellis admitted. "But Keila's ways don't make any sense to me anymore." He looked away from the two girls seated in front of him for a moment. Everything had degenerated so much from their original mission, what was one more thing? He thought of Lloyd: his death and apparent resurrection, surely all of that was some mistake in the cosmic weavings. They had to start making their own decisions instead of relying on prophecy and speculation. They had to. "If you guys don't want to, then we won't but I think it's the right thing to do."

Ceres, beside Estell, shrugged with a sigh. "Couldn't we just protect them? That way their spirits will still be safe . . . we're meant to fight alongside them eventually anyways, right?"

"And then they die," Estell added. Ellis cast her a knowing look which she returned a little reluctantly. "We're just playing it out the same way as before except maybe more of them live to see the end. Maybe Ellis is right, maybe we can change more if we do it this way." She grabbed her sister's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

Ceres smiled albeit somewhat belatedly. "You can't change the past, dear sister, but I'm in if you guys think it's right."

"Tonight then," Ellis stated. "We'll attack tonight."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading. I'm not promising anything because it only ever backfires when I do. Till next time, cheers. Allusia.


	10. The Element of Surprise

AN: WARNING! This is a long note.

First, I would like to apologize for not updating in so long. You can thank Aislin Oriel for convincing me to keep on with this story. In fact, this chapter was co-written by the wonderful Authoress. Anyways, a couple of things before we begin: 1) As a sort of celebration for getting back into the swing of things, I'm holding a little popularity contest. If there are any Ellis fangirls (or boys) still out there and you want to be in my next chapter or two, you can send me (or put in your review) your avatar's name and they will appear in an upcoming chapter of this fic! 2) Stay tuned for another joint venture between myself and Aislin! If you like this story but are yearning for something a little non-sensical, you'll love our aptly named "Drag", it stars all the characters – including my ocs – and drunkeness, nakedness and goats ensue! Well, be sure to review so I know you guys want more – thanks so much for all the reviews thus far – just keep them coming and check back for more news about these exciting events!

* * *

* * *

"This is beautiful," Lloyd remarked as he studied the small statuette of Albert's father.

The king rushed over to him and snatched the piece from the Wingly's hands. "I told you not to touch anything."

"Well, I don't particularly enjoy having to follow you around like a little dog, dear king. Perhaps, if you'd allow me a short jaunt-"

"No! You're not leaving my sight," Albert declared, then realizing the possible consequences of his statement added: "At the very least, you're not leaving the company of one of us."

"A little touchy, I see." Lloyd shrugged and walked passed him. "What's this?"

"Stop that!" Albert snapped, "You're like a child!" He grabbed the ornament from Lloyd and shooed him away.

Lloyd regarded the king wryly as he plucked another item from the desk, looked at it with an appraising eye and then tossed it into the air experimentally. "You do seem to have quite the collection of . . . bobbles." He caught the item – a quartz-like orb – lightly and set it back down before Albert had the time to do it himself.

"That's enough. I want you out of this room and into the common room with everyone else – and do not pick that up!" Albert moved in between Lloyd and the desired trinket and guided him off towards the open doors. He nodded to one of the guards, indicating that the Wingly needed some supervision. "Send the others my apologies, but I really need to get these done," he said, holding up the pile of paper that needed his stately attention.

Lloyd was marched out of the King's State Room to the common room where Dart, Miranda and Shana sat. The guard instructed Lloyd to take a seat then addressed the trio: "His Majesty sends his deepest apologies." Then obediently returned to his post. Shana and Miranda shared a laugh in spite of Lloyd. Dart merely glanced at the Wingly in annoyance.

"So," Lloyd reclined into a comfortable position, "What is this happy bunch up to?" he smiled fakely and affected interest. Dart snorted and looked back to Shana, while Miranda sat sharpening a short-sword. "Charming, as usual," Lloyd quipped. "You know, as much as I enjoy spending all this quality time with the likes of you, I feel somewhat obligated to inform you of certain actions that might be taken in preparation for . . . well, in preparation anyways."

Dart lifted a skeptical eyebrow. "Is this another one of your stories, Lloyd, or do you actually mean something by it?"

"Oh, I'm hurt that you do not trust me. I only intended to help, but if you don't wish to listen . . ." Lloyd let his gaze drift around the room.

A sequence of eye-rolling followed shortly thereafter. The Wingly attempted to stand but thought better of it as Dart moved to draw his sword. "Nice craftsmanship," he pointed to the blade.

"Just get on with whatever you were going to say."

Lloyd shrugged, "Alright, alright. Personally, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out by yourselves already, but – ah, well I guess I was just over-estimating your vast intellect . . ." He straightened in his seat as if ready to confide in them a horrible secret. "You've never wondered who it was that brought me in, in the first place? This random person possessing both the Dragon Block Staff and the ability to subdue yours truly-"

"Enough about your sordid personal life, Lloyd. Say what needs to be said and stop boring us with your riddles," Dart demanded.

"Beyond the forces that threaten to quell us, there are others out there whom need to be found . . . and possibly stopped."

"And who are these 'others', exactly?" Miranda pondered pointedly.

Lloyd looked behind him to the grand windows that showed the bustling Bale below. "Well, Dart's met one of them already, and she alone proved to be too much for our Divine Dragoon."

"What's this about?" Shana asked Dart. He appeared to be deep in thought, then sighed dejectedly as he got up and left the room. He glared at Lloyd the entire time as he went. Shana looked to Miranda but she merely gave her an expression as if to say, "Can't help you, kid." Shana turned to Lloyd. "What kind of trick are you playing now?" she demanded.

Lloyd smiled mischievously. "The best kind."

* * *

Dart stalked passed Albert's State Room with his hands stuck in his pockets and a thoughtful – if not perturbed – expression on his face. Albert, in the process of handing off some documents to a paige, noticed the rather uncharacteristic gait of his friend and called to him.

"Dart, is everything alright?"

Dart stopped and turned to face the king. He shrugged. "I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen, and I'm afraid it's all my fault."

"Explain." Albert crossed his arms.

"I'm not sure that I can, but all I know is that everyone should be prepared for the worst, whatever that may be."

"This seems serious," Albert said, concerned.

"Yes, well, can you make sure everyone else knows and is ready?" Dart asked.

"Yes, but what about you?"

"I have some things of my own to attend to, after all, I am responsible," he stated. Albert watched his friend leave, quizzically regarding the red warrior.

* * *

"Jeez, where'd he go now?" Ceres complained as she paced the room.

"I dunno, he said something about it being important, I think," Estell muttered from where she sat on her bed.

"Don't do anything till I get back," Ceres said, doing her best Ellis-alike. "Since when does he think he's the leader?"

"Just because we're living off his money, and he comes up with all the plans, the nerve of that guy," Estell teased.

"Well, I don't see why we have to wait until late tonight – that's so far away and I am just rearing to go for a good tussle," her sister replied in a dejected tone as she sat back on her bed. "If we're better than them, the time of day isn't going to make a difference – right?"

"I guess not, but you know how he is with his plans – very . . ."

"Anal? Jeez, he's probably just gone out for an afternoon shmooze-fest, he's such a ladies-man."

"It is a long time until midnight – and we never know when he's gonna come back," Estell was saying.

"I approve of this train of thought."

" . . . You'd think that if it was so vital to wait, he would have told us why."

"I tell ya, shmooze-fest."

"Why are we even waiting for him?" Estell suddenly exclaimed. "I'm the one with a Dragoon spirit-"

"And he's such a wussy fighter, anyways."

"How many of them are there?"

"Five, plus the royal guard, and the rest of the army, oh – and the militia."

"We could take them," Estell stated confidently. "By the time the rest of them get there, we'll have the stones and be gone. Besides, they don't even know we exist yet. Total element of surprise."

"Ellis is going to kill us."

"He'll get over it."

* * *

"Do I look ominous or what?"

"Try and stay focussed, will ya? I'll be ready as soon as you're in there."

"Got it." The hooded figure casually made her way up to the main entrance of the castle. Not surprisingly, one of the guards stopped her as she approached.

"'Scuse me, but the castle is off limits to civilians."

"Oh yeah? Even if I have some vital information about the things attacking the Dragon Knights?"

A runner came up to Albert and whispered something into his ear, then was off again. The news was apparently something that took the king as a surprise.

"What is it?" Miranda asked.

"There's a woman at the entrance claiming to know something about the wraiths . . ." All eyes turned to Lloyd as Albert said this.

The Wingly shrugged non-chalantly. "It might be best just to send her off," he said.

"Right . . ." Shana muttered.

"Is she one of these foes you were talking about earlier?" Albert inquired.

"I dunno, apparently my ability to see through walls isn't working today," Lloyd answered shortly.

"Send her to the reception room," Albert called to a waiting paige. The boy nodded then ran off.

"Will our stones work against her?" Miranda asked of Lloyd.

"They might," 'depending on whether or not she has the Block Staff with her.'

"We'll see her, then," Albert stated as he stood. He nodded to one of the royal guard in the room. "You know what to do." Everyone got up as well, except Lloyd.

"Not coming?" Shana asked curiously.

"Oh, yes he is," Albert said eyeing the Wingly pointedly.

"Well, if you insist."

The woman was wearing a dark cloak with a cowl to cover her face. She had her back to the king's entrance into the reception room. Albert approached her cautiously but as politely as possible. The others fanned out along the wall.

"Miss?" he said by way of greeting once he faced her. "I'm Albert." The woman nodded, then walked over to the nearest window. Albert followed her movements. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"It's stuffy in here," she replied.

'That's not Estell!' Lloyd realized in horror as he heard the voice.

Miranda caught him by the arm as he moved towards the king and the stranger. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked. Kongol gave him a warning look.

"I . . . I . . ." the Wingly was stuck for words.

Miranda tensed at this. "Albert, something's wrong!" she yelled.

* * *

Thanks for reading, please review! - Kez 


	11. My Return from Hiatus Please enjoy!

Albert turned in Miranda's direction, giving thestranger an opportunity she capitalized on. Both hands clasped together, she hit him hard on the back, then tackled him as he fell to the ground, pinning him with a knee to the spine. She drew a dagger and pressed it against the king's throat.

Miranda and Dart were already rushing the attacker, while Kongol held onto Lloyd by the throat. Suddenly, as both warriors crossed the room, a polar blast of magic threw them backwards into Shana, Kongol and Lloyd. Recovering as quickly as possible, all five of them looked in the direction the spell had come from. There, standing on the sill of the grand window, stood the Water Dragoon, Estell.

Her eyes seemed to widen as if surprised by something, but that quickly faded away as her cool voice echoed through the air. "Stay back – that was just a warning." She stepped down from the sill, the blue chrome armour shimmering in the sunlight. "Now," she began. "I think we all know how this works. We ask the questions and you give us the answers."

"Who the hell are you!" Miranda demanded.

"I don't think she gets it," the oneholding Albert captive quipped.

Kongol was paying more attention to the goings-on of the room than the Wingly, which served Lloyd well. He wriggled out of the Giganto's waning grasp and pushed passed Dart and Miranda. "What _the hell_ do you think you're doing!" He yelled, rare anger audible in his voice. A set of amber eyes glared up at him from behind the hood of Albert's attacker. Lloyd stopped short in his advance towards the strangers, opening his mouth to say something, yet no sound came out.

"That's a fine question, coming from you," Estell returned. She addressed the rest of the dragoons next, "Now, first question: Where are the remaining Dragon Spirits, namely Darkness and Fire?"

Without warning, Albert shot his elbow blindly into the person pinning him. His attacker, for her part, was still staring at Lloyd and taken by surprise, fell to the ground unceremoniously as Albert managed to roll away. He stood slowly once he was far enough out of reach of the two. "What is this about? I demand an answer!"

"They're not here, Estell," Lloyd stated.

"Quiet Lloyd!" Albert ordered. He pointed to the two strangers. "If the Dragons have selected you, there obviously must be some misunderstanding between us. I don't want to make an enemy out of you. You'll leave now," he ordered. "Or you will find yourselves dealing with four Dragon Knights and a legion of my royal guard."

Estell snorted.

"Don't be foolish, girls. Ceres get out of here," Lloyd moved towards Estell and her counterpart.

In an instant there was a staff in the hands of Albert's attacker. She got up fluidly, and swung at Lloyd with it. Very obviously, not expecting such an assault, all he could dowas put his hands up to defend himself. The woman simply adjusted the blow to strike him in the side, then hit him in the gut with the potent weapon. Lloyd doubled over, and fell to the ground in a heap, the wind knocked out of him.

Ceres turned to her sister, "I'm not afraid, are you?"

Estell opened her mouth to answer, but a howling wind stole away her answer as a gale manifested itself.

'The Wind Wraith,' Ceres realized as the beast came into view.

* * *

Please review so I know you want more, I know I haven't updated in awhile, very sorry. I have more typed! I just need to know people are still reading . . . 


	12. Parellels

"'Stell . . ." Ceres murmured, as she dismissed her weapon absently.

"I know," Estell assured her sister, turning towards the beast. From behind her back, she brought out two spiralled, pearl-esque daggers. "Protect the stone, I'll distract big, green and ugly here."

Ceres was off before Estell had finished the sentence.

The Wind Wraith loomed over the group, a vicious mutation of Feyrbrand. It snarled razor winds, causing a small gusty storm to envelop the room. All eyes were set upon the creature; all of them save for Ceres'.

It was a simple lunge attack that brought down the king. Albert had barely registered the event before Ceres had wrapped her arms around his waist as they pummelled groundwards. The two spiralled in the air once before landing.

Time slowed, instances travelled in years . . .

Dart was already in motion, sword in one hand, ready to tear the girl away from Albert.

The Wind Wraith attacked then. It jumped towards the trio, morphing into an ethereal spear aimed straight for Albert's heart.

There was a crackling sound.

A hand grabbed Dart by the shoulder plate as he ran towards Albert and Ceres, and yanked him to the side.

The air grew cold, freezing.

A puff of Dart's breath materialized before his eyes.

The floor was suddenly full of icicle fingers stretching out towards the king and his attacker. A wall of ice formed, cutting off the wraith from Albert. The beast hurtled into it, shards exploding on contact.

Albert didn't resist the familiar temptation to curl his fingers around his dragon spirit as the insanity surged inside him. As he and Ceres hit the ground, he reached inside his shirt and brought out the stone. From a precarious position on top of him, Ceres snatched the spirit with the ferocity of a magpie, and made off.

Dumbstruck, the king grabbed after her but only managed to get a hold of her cloak. The dark garment floated to the ground as the wall of ice formed between himself and the wraith. The magic continued to spawn itself, sealing the doorway Ceres had escaped through. Blocking any possible pursuit.

By this point in time, Miranda and Kongol were racing forward, both calling on their inner power. Estell, the wraith or Ceres, something needed to be done. But nothing happened.

Dart was glaring at Estell, trying to figure out what exactly she was up to, which side she was on.

Everyone braced for the shower of ice as the wall shattered. Diamonds rained down on them.

The wraith gave a blood-curdling shriek.

Estell fell to the ground, curling in pain. A flash of light later, she was an ordinary Wingly again. Looking up, she glimpsed the open window. _I should get out of here. Now_, she realized. On her stomach, she ducked her head down as the wraith slashed its tail around, spraying the room with more of the icy shards. She surveyed the goings-on from behind her silvery bangs.

The Light and Earth dragoons were wallowing in confusion, poised for attack but obviously unsure of themselves without the spirits' power. The Moon Child stood in the opposite corner of the room, watching in horror. The king was protecting himself from the shards with his cape . . . he seemed completely unaware of his fate. Dart – Dart was glaring at her?

As the last of the ice-diamonds came down upon them, Dart was suddenly standing over her. He grabbed her forcefully by the arm and brought her up to face him. "What the hell is this? What's going on?"

Estell pushed away from him.

_C'mon, Estell, leave, now. _

The wind wraith lurched towards Albert, who was utterly defenseless. He dodged quickly, escaping the brunt of the attack. Dart instantly forgot Estell and pounced on the beast, sword slicing outwards.

Time stood still for Estell. A wash of memories flooded her.

_Leave.Now._

Soon, Miranda and Kongol joined the battle. They were fighting, bleeding, losing . . . protecting Albert. He was going to die but they didn't stop. The wraith relentlessly came back, snarling, lunging, slashing. The blows were always directed at Albert, yet he rarely was hit. Still, they were mortal and they wouldn't be able to keep it up forever. He was going to die, but they wouldn't give up.

Estell reached down and plucked her daggers from the ice bespeckled floor as she studied the scene. Wasn't she doing the same thing for her sister? There was a moment of contemplation . . . things to come . . . consequences . . . then, she rushed the fight.

Albert dived out of the way, while Kongol attempted to parry the slashing charge of the wraith with a chair he was using as a weapon of opportunity. There was a blur of silver hair, and then she was in front of him.

"What are you-"

Estell placed one of her daggers in his hand. "If you truly wish to be the Dragon Knight of Wind, the wraith must die by your hand," she told him.

Albert nodded solemnly, tightening his grasp of the hilt.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own LoD.

AN: Yeah, so I think I've been watching too many Woo flicks lately. Anyways, hope you enjoy and please review. Thanks for reading! – K.Ramsey

ps - Hmmm, sorry if this was a confusing chapter. It shall all be explained. I promise.


	13. Plans Gone Asunder

It wasn't the simple course of events she thought it would be. _Get the stone, get out of the castle_. However, as it was a pre-disposition of her character, she had conveniently forgot all of the minor details that now were transpiring to do her in. There were the royal guard right outside the reception hall, then there were the royal guard at the bottom of the stairwell, and then just to add a little spice to her rampant escape, there was an entire platoon of regulars casually fraternizing in one of the rooms Ceres happened to zip into. They weren't fraternizing for very long after that. And as she avoided another volley of crossbow bolts, she remembered why she and Estell usually left all of the planning up to Ellis.

Now she had a goodly portion of the castle's enlisted men on her tail, and she was readily running out of places to run to. _Damn this place is confusing. Didn't I already pass through this hallway? _It didn't help that the castle itself was perched on a nice cliff overlooking the sea; it made jumping to a freedom a very unlikely reality.

_Okay, okay, think. You went this way, then you took a left- _Her train of thought stopped short as she was hauled into a room by a strong set of arms. With one hand clamped over her mouth and the other wrapped around her body, Ellis closed the door behind them as quietly as possible, hoping that he had snatched Ceres quickly enough that her pursuers might not have seen where she went. He let go of her as soon as they were both safe in the room.

"Ellis!" Ceres yelled in a whisper. "Where have you been? Wait. How did you know we were here?"

"I was already here," he explained. "Not that it would have taken a lot of brain power to put two and two together, given the commotion going on upstairs."

Ceres sat down to catch her breath, nodding. "It didn't go as well as planned."

"You two actually had a plan?"

"Mostly. It was a simple three-step process, but it paid off for the most part," she showed him the Dragoon spirit.

Ellis took it from her and shoved it into a pocket. "You two are going to be the death of me," he scolded.

Ceres only laughed slightly.

"How you managed to pull this off can only be contributed to that absurd sense of Luck you seem to have."

"Well, were the hell were you? We were waiting forever."

"Trying to find a more subtle way into the castle."

Ceres stuck her tongue out in reply.

"Well, we better get moving. The guard will eventually start searching room to room."

"You have way out then?"

"I always have a way out," Ellis chided.

Ceres ignored him. "Well, I'm supposed to meet Estell back at the inn, outside of town by the shoreline if there's too much heat. We should probably head there."

"So, she was making her escape too then?" Ellis clarified.

"Pretty sure," Ceres nodded.

ooo

The wraith was snarling, tossing its head back teasingly as it readied for another charge.

From behind him, Estell whispered to Albert, "You're going to have to trust me on this one."

"I don't apparently have a choice at the moment," the king conceded.

Estell nodded as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight backwards hug.

The wraith snorted.

"Okay, here we go. I hope you're as light as you look."

As the beast rushed forward, Estell summoned her wings, leaping into the air with Albert in tow. The wraith took a swipe and bite of empty air, as the two moved out of its reach. Then, without notice, Estell let go of Albert and he fell swiftly onto the head of the beast.

Caught offguard by the manuever, the wraith was still for a moment as it tried to figure out just what had happened. Albert seized the short seconds he had by sliding down the back of its neck and plunging Estell's dagger into the wraith's throat. It reacted instantly, bucking and clawing at Albert who held on for dear life. The other dragoons moved in then, surrounding the beast.

From where she hovered in the air, Estell watched it all before making her way out of the room via the open window. She just barely heard the sounds of the royal guard as they finally managed to break through the wall of ice covering the doorway.

There was ambivalence stirring inside her. Hope and dread.

_Ellis is going to kill me_, she realized.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

So, I'm pretty sure no one is reading this anymore so this'll probably be the last chapter for awhile. If you are reading this, thanks and please review if you want to know what happens. Cheers. – k.ramsey


	14. The Woman Who Loved Lloyd

Ellis stared at a glass of water, lost in deep contemplation; he was sitting there at the bar of the small tavern. Someone cleared her throat. He looked up. Estell was sitting on the next stool beside him.

"When'd you get here? And what the hell took you so long?" he demanded.

Estell raised her slender index finger, indicating she wanted silence. An icy glare followed.

Ellis pursed his lips in response, a curt expression enveloping his features.

"Where's Ceres?" Estell asked softly.

"Well, last I saw her she was hanging around that small tent-market outisde – eager to spend the money we don't have. I don't know, I think she might be mad at me."

Estell smacked him upside the head in deadpan. "Of course she's mad at you! I'm mad at you, you sonofa-"

Ellis stood up defensively after shaking off the sudden attack. "Why the hell are you mad at me? I'm the one who should be mad at you two . . ." his voice trailed off as Estell's nostril's flared. Her hands, balled fists at her sides, were shaking slightly with rage. "Or not," Ellis conceded as he sat back down.

"Why didn't you say anything about Lloyd!" Estell exclaimed.

"I was going to-"he tried.

"When!" she demanded, interjecting. "When were you going to, Ellis? Hmmm, when?" She stood to her full height, about ready to throttle him.

"Alright, alright! Calm down!" He yanked her back down in the seat by her arm, then continued on in a strained whisper. "You think, just maybe, you might want to keep it casual? We're trying to keep a low profile, here, remember? Just attacked the king and all."

Estell pulled her arm from Ellis' grip. "Well, big brother, that'd be your fault too, now wouldn't it?" she said scathingly, demeanor resuming its usual serenity.

"My fault!" Ellis responded in disbelief.

"You're the one with the secret plans and lies," Estell began as she turned around on her seat, facing the counter instead of him. She took hold of the glass of water Ellis had previously found so engaging and gulped it down. "If you had been around we wouldn't have had to – you know, do what we did – and if you had told us about Lloyd in the first place, I wouldn't have been yelling at you right now!" she reasoned.

"Okay, okay. I admit all fault. Happy? Can we get back to exactly what happened there?"

"There were complications in the plan," Estell stated cryptically.

Ellis decided to let it go for the time being. "And are we any closer to getting, well . . ." he lowered his voice, "the purple and red stones?"

"Well, no, but we have Feyrbrand's."

"I know," Ellis remarked as he rubbed his eyes in frustration. "Still, it wasn't a very high yield for the spectacle you two conducted." He sighed. "I was afraid another wraith would strike before we did."

"Technically, it struck _while_ we did," Estell pointed out.

Ellis looked at her pointedly. "Well, either way, you two effectively destroyed any hope of executing my plan now. Security's going to be way too tight to even try another assault, of any kind. Even the way I got in today would be too risky.

Estell smiled. "And how did you manage to sneak in today? Who was the lucky girl? Castle maid?"

Ellis smirked, then shrugged. "What can I say? It's a gift and a curse."

"So, what was this master plan of yours, anyway?"

"I'd get us in by way of an unbeknownst accomplice – this would be in the dead of night of course, as opposed to high noon. We'd rob them of their stones, _all of them_, then force the location of the remaining two out of them. Grab them. Be back home by breakfast."

"Worked in theory," Estell quipped.

Ellis just sneered her way.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

Ceres was trying on a floppy hat from one of the vendors' booths, wiggling it about this way and that. She posed for her sister as Estell approached.

"Hey, you're finally here. What do you think?"

"Ceres, you don't like hats."

"I could make an exception for this one."

"I think you should go and see Ellis."

"Why does he need a hat?" She laughed. "Hey, do you remember when we used to braid his hair into pigtails when he fell asleep? We should do that again some time – though I do sometimes feel bad when he gets those bouts of insomnia." She put the hat back, selecting, this time, a scarf to try on.

Estell grabbed the scarf and placed it back on its hook. "Look, enough distractions. We need to talk."

"About what?" her sister piped.

Estell eyed Ceres carefully. "Are you okay with all of this?"

She shrugged. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, I was shocked to discover that our long-lost and dearly-departed Lloyd was not so dearly-departed."

"Oh, that," Ceres remarked, shrugging again. "No big deal." She walked off to the next booth.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The carcass was huge. So large in fact that it had to be cut up in order for it to be removed from the reception room. There was a horde of castle workers in there now. It smelled like death and blood, and it was damp from the melting ice. After she was sure he was alright, Emille had told him not to worry about the renovations the central wing would need – that she'd take care of all of it. And he wasn't worrying about it at all. He was standing on the balcony of his castle staring at the peculiar dagger in his hand.

Dart was leaning against the railing, watching the goings-on inside. "I'm going to kill him," he stated.

"Who? Lloyd? Don't waste your energy on him," Albert advised. "Besides which, I think he got a good enough beating as it is."

Miranda walked in from the wreckage.

"How is everyone?" Dart asked.

"Oh, fine," she said. "Lloyd's back in his cell for the time being. Shana's sleeping and Kongol's helping to haul off the rest of that wraith."

"Thank you," Albert said after a moment. "I was very lucky."

"Lucky that that dagger did the job," Miranda said with a smirk.

Albert nodded. "It's Wingly weapons that seem to work against these things," he said holding the spiralled blade up to the sunlight.

Miranda snorted. "Right, because Lloyd has been so helpful. His twenty-eight day prediction fell short by about twenty-seven days."

"Well, he obviously doesn't know as much as he would like to admit, but we can't deny that he's a part of this. Those other two knew him."

"Yeah, knew him well enough to keep him out of their business," Dart commented. "We'll have to find them and get to the bottom of this, but first I think Miranda and I should make a small trip to the Tree of Life."

"You think that Rose's spirit and your father's might still be there somewhere?" Miranda asked.

Dart turned around to look at the ocean. "There's only one way to find out."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Thanks for reading! Thanks for reviewing! Least I know people still are reading. Thanks again.-k.ramsey


	15. Damsel In Distress

Lloyd woke, feeling as though he had been used as a Wingly-punching bag by a Giganto. Sprawled haphazardly across the floor of the cell, he slowly lifted a hand to his head¸ and rubbed his brow contemplatively. He didn't know what it felt like to be hung-over, but he decided that hung-over would have been a nice retreat. The Wingly propped himself up on his elbows, staring at his toes disinterestedly while he steeled away his resolve. Finally, with a determined thrust of his upper body, he was sitting. However, his moment of victory was quickly tainted by the nausea that flooded his head and the pain that screamed from his torso. He lay back down, defeated.

"Bravo. That was most inspiring," Dart commented from where he stood, leaning in the threshold of the doorway.

"You making a habit of watching me sleep?" Lloyd asked, eyes on the stone ceiling.

"You lied to us," Dart stated simply.

"Oh that. Pah, you make it sound as if you're surprised." He closed his eyes and put a hand over them, to shield them from the dull light falling into the cell. "I'm sorry, Hero, did I tarnish that gleaming ego of yours?" Lloyd heard another pair of footsteps approach.

"We both told you talking to him is a waste of time," the Sacred Sister commented to Dart.

"And yet, he seems rather fond of it, doesn't he?" Lloyd quipped. "Look," he muttered absently. "As much as I enjoy our little games of intellectual chess – or rather, checkers in your case – I'm not in the best colour at the present moment, so could you come back later?"

The Sacred Sister sighed in a way that brought a smirk to Lloyd's face. "Albert has his fastest ship readied, Dart. We can be to the Tree of Life in two days," she said.

"After Darkness and Fire, are we? They aren't there."

"How would you know?" Dart inquired of the Wingly.

"The stones aren't there, just like we have 28 days to prepare?" Miranda quipped.

Lloyd giggled awkwardly. Dart swore he heard a snort. "Well, I know it has _something_ to do with 28 days – the moon cycle and all. Everything's connected to the stars and the moon. Maybe we'll all just be dead in 28 days time," he rambled. He pressed his fingers to his temples as another wave of nausea hit him. "One can only hope."

"What the hell's your problem?" the Sacred Sister demanded. "Besides the obvious," she added dryly.

"Oh just a lifetime of guilt manifesting itself," Lloyd remarked rather candidly.

Miranda's eyebrow lifted skeptically, casting a sideways glance towards Dart, who shrugged in reply.

OOO

"So, let's review, shall we?" Ellis said as he set down some supper. Estell eyed him with mild interest. "Getting Regole's Stone, my plan – success? Flawless. Storming the castle, your plan – success? Not so much."

Estell took a bite of one of the apples Ellis had put on the table, and chewed loudly, clearly unimpressed. "You're forgetting something," she said after a moment.

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"Your ingenius plan to lie to us, betraying our deep-seeded trust in you, dear brother, by covering up the fact that Lloyd is not so dead . . . also handing him over to the Dragoons, what was that about?" She inadvertently swept the room for Ceres and her reaction, except that her sister was nowhere to be found.

OOO

Wearing a wonderfully hideous, droopy hat, Ceres peered at the castle from underneath the wide brim. Ellis was right. Patrols seemed to go by every other minute, even the turrets were manned. Bale's populace, too, seemed aware of the heightened security. Everywhere she went Ceres heard rumours about the beast that attacked the Dragoons or the assassination attempt against their king – the versions varied from place to place.

Eyeing her proximity to the castle, Ceres guessed this was about as close as she was going to get without being noticed. She was a few paces away, on the city side of the castle's moat, pretending to be interested in one of the outside vendor's wares. No one seemed to pay her much attention. She surely didn't look like a hulking monster, and everyone knew the assassin had been a Wingly.

As soon as the patrol disappeared around one of the castle's corners, Ceres edged her way closer to the moat. She looked behind her to a stack of pottery at a nearby stand, and casually brought out a small something from her pocket. She tossed the spell in the direction of pots, being careful not to summon the magic until the little sparkly orb was close enough. Then with a _boom!_ that shook the marketplace, the Dark Mist went into its usual display sending the pottery (as well as the stand incidentally) crashing to the ground. With a bit of cringe, Ceres jumped over the ledge confident that most – if not all – eyes were presently engaged in the chaos she had incited. Within seconds, the only evidence left of her was an outrageously loud hat floating on the waters of the moat.

OOO

The walls had ceased to spin, but his migraine remained. There was a small window just below the ceiling; bright noon-day light fell into his cell, cruelly illuminating the place as the sunlight bounced and glimmered off the stone and metal. Even with his eyes closed, the brightness filtered in.

"I'm sorry, Ceres," he muttered.

"So am I," came her voice.

Lloyd let out a snort, one of unbelieving regret. "Wonderful, hallucinations have begun to set in," he let out with a hoarse laugh.

There was suddenly both a splash of cold water to his face, and a shadow over him – respite from the agonizing sunlight. Lloyd's eyes scrunched reflexively as the water hit him; he opened them gingerly thereafter. Ceres stood over him in silhouette. "I'm damsel-in-distressing your ass out of here," she stated.

"Who knew my delusions would be so true to form."

Ceres rolled her eyes and wrung out her shirt again over Lloyd's face. This time the cold water caught him in the mouth; he sputtered and coughed, sitting up quickly. She knelt down beside him, wet hair in tangles around her face. Lloyd refused to look her in the eye; he stared straight forward instead.

"I'm not sure if you dream when you're dead – but I dreamt of you for all of that time I was falling." A few drops dripped down onto his pants, and he eyed them studiously. A hand tentatively went to a strand of Ceres' ebony hair; he held it between thumb and finger experimentally, testing its reality.

"I'm real, you moron," she muttered.

"Ceres?" Lloyd baffled, turning to her. He realized then, the droplets hadn't been from her hair – but from her eyes.

She wrapped her arms around him ferociously and buried her head into his chest. "I think I hate you, but I'm too damn happy at the moment to care," she muffled.

Lloyd hugged her tightly. "I missed you too."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hmm, so I had it set in my head that this story was DEAD. (no rhyme intended) But it nagged at me, and I hated to think that I had let down both my Aislin and my readers. Then inspiration struck and I realized, what a waste of time it would be if I didn't keep this thing going after 14 chapters! Thank you for reading. Please review. Cheers, k.ramsey


	16. The Swan's Road

She snuggled into Lloyd for another moment before pushing away from him.

"Gotta get outta here," Ceres remarked stated in response to his near-offended stare.

"The water ways of the castle, I take it?"

"If you make one remark about the peculiar scent I've picked up from the moat . . ."

Lloyd grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her gently on the forehead. "We were in the middle of rescuing me?"

"Yeah. Let's get going before I realize the mistake I just made." Ceres eyed the Dragon Block Staff curiously, resisting the urge to snag it. Upon reflection, she realized there was enough to worry about without having to lug the precarious artifact along with them. Lloyd staggered along behind her as they left the cell.

ooo

"She's not in her room," Ellis exclaimed. He slumped down into the nearest chair. "This is all just a mess. And I can't see a way to straighten it out. We're nowhere closer to finding Fire or Darkness. We have a dragoon spirit that is completely useless to us. The next wraith attack could be any day now and now we've lost Ceres." An apple core suddenly hit him in the side of his head. Ellis turned to the culprit casually.

"You're over-thinking again," Estell commented. "Calm down. Ceres probably just went for a walk. Hell, I'm just about getting cabin fever being cooped up in this dingy place." She eyed the cobwebs and mildew pointedly.

"Well, we wouldn't be in such a horrible little Inn if you two hadn't -" at the sudden frown that appeared on Estell's face, he stopped short. "It's besides the point. We're here now. I guess we'll just have to wait for her to get back."

Estell rolled her eyes, as she returned to her dinner. "Gives you more time to figure this mess out anyways."

ooo

Searing sunlight hammered Lloyd's head, pierced his eyes as the two emerged from the darkness of the castle passageway. He stepped back into the shadows alongside Ceres. She had led them to the lower docks. Across the waters were the main wharf was located, a sleek corvette was being prepared for launch.

"What's that?"

"The king's fastest ship, I'm assuming."

"Huh?"

"The other dragoons are going back to the Tree of Life looking for the Fire and Darkness spirits. They're not there, though. It's a waste of time," Lloyd explained.

"How do you know?" Ceres queried skeptically.

He avoided her eyes as he spoke. "To make a long story short, I was there quite recently and there was no sign of any of the stones."

Ceres snorted in disbelief. "And why would they show themselves to you?"

Lloyd didn't like where this was going. But he didn't have time to convince her of something else before the thought verbalized:

"We should tag along. My spirit might be waiting for me!"

"What happened to the part where you're rescuing me? What about Ellis and Estell?" he attempted.

"Ellis? We'd have to sit here for a week trying to figure out if it was the best course of action," Ceres mocked, talking in her Ellis voice. She moved closer to the edge of the dock.

Lloyd snatched her wrist. "Let's forget all this."

Ceres regarded him quizzically as she shook off his grasp. She flashed a mischievious smile and then dropped into the murky waters.

"I'll buy you a house, a horse! Anything!" Lloyd called after her without thinking. Motion in his periphery caught his attention. A flurry of movement on the opposite wharf. Faces he knew too well. _Of all the timing_, he looked to the water, its surface was immaculate.

ooo

They were standing on the boarding ramp when the familiar voice cut through the air.

"How the hell did he?" Miranda exclaimed.

Dart was already reaching for his sword. "Don't care."

Albert put his hand out in front of his friend. "Let the guard handle it, we have places to be, my friend."

It was clear in Dart's eyes that he was not happy with the idea of leaving the likes of Lloyd to the royal guard now approaching the Wingly. Miranda stepped clear of the two men, shoving a hand into her pocket.

"I'll handle him, Dart. You need to be at the Tree of Life. You're the only one who has a chance of finding the Fire spirit."

The two exchanged glances before she ran off.

Lloyd was standing on the opposite deck, almost expectantly.


End file.
